Agatha Crane Investigates — Deck Guide

TL;DR
A Seeker-leaning Agatha Crane that turns her ability — “if you sealed, canceled, or ignored any chaos tokens this round, play a Spell or Insight event from your discard at the end of your turn” — into steady action economy.
You manipulate the chaos bag with Ocula Obscura (Esoteric Eyepiece) and token-tech, then recur one event every round (e.g., Working a Hunch, Mind over Matter, Drawn to the Flame, Ethereal Form, Blinding Light, Preposterous Sketches). Classic Seeker clue compression (Fingerprint Kit, Magnifying Glass, Dr. Milan) plus WILL-based evasion/fighting keeps enemies from costing you turns.

Game Plan

The End-of-Turn Loop (Core Engine)

A. Tag the condition. During your turn, do something that seals, cancels, or ignores a chaos token (Eyepiece, “ignore” from your spells, a defensive trick).
B. Do the work. Hoover clues with Fingerprint Kit (plus Deduction), or pivot to WILL-based evade/fight lines.
C. Free value. In the end-of-turn window, play 1 Spell or Insight from your discard:

• Clues: Working a Hunch (testless), Drawn to the Flame (2 clues), or Mind over Matter if an enemy appears.
• Safety/Control: Ethereal Form or Blinding Light to be safe through enemy phase, or Preposterous Sketches to refill.

Note: This timing still counts as “during your turn” for events that require it.

Clue Compression and Consistency

• Primary: Fingerprint Kit gives 2 clues per action; stack Deduction plus Magnifying Glass to blitz high-shroud, multi-clue locations.
• Stat floor: Hawk-Eye Folding Camera ramps permanent INT/WILL over a scenario.
• Testless finishers: Working a Hunch and Drawn to the Flame end awkward locations or dodge Flood/movement taxes.

Enemy Management Without Losing Tempo

• WILL-evade: Ethereal Form and Blinding Light convert WILL into evasion (often with upside), so you don’t need Rogue agility tricks.
• Panic button: End a turn with one of those in discard, then recur it and you’re safe for enemy phase.
• Must-kill moments: Shrivelling and Breath of the Sleeper (WILL-fight that ignores non-chosen tokens) handle the few enemies you actually need to remove.

Card Roles and Synergies (Highlights)

• Ocula Obscura (Esoteric Eyepiece) — Reliable seal engine plus consistent trigger for Agatha’s recursion. Usually your default accessory.
• Breath of the Sleeper — WILL fight, reveal extra tokens, ignore the rest; advances your engine even while attacking.
• Ethereal Form / Blinding Light — Spell events (thus recur-eligible) that give safe evasion; Form is “untouchable this round,” Light also chips damage.
• Mind over Matter (Insight) — Glue card: with high INT from your board, it delivers evade or fight on demand; recur it often.
• Working a Hunch (Insight) — Testless, fast clue; perfect recur target.
• Drawn to the Flame (Spell) — Two testless clues for an encounter flip; WILL plus cancels/ignores plus recur timing mitigate the hit.
• Fingerprint Kit + Deduction + Magnifying Glass — The core Seeker compression trio.
• Hawk-Eye Folding Camera — Early drop; typically yields +WILL/+INT across a scenario, reinforcing both halves of the deck.
• Dr. Milan Christopher — Pays you for doing your job, funding assets and event spam.
• Holy Rosary / Talisman of Protection — Scenario picks for extra WILL/soak when Eyepiece isn’t needed (but Eyepiece is usually best).
• Mortar and Pestle / Dial of Ancients / Artistic Inspiration / The Great Work (The Drowned City tech) — Touch the bag (seal/ignore/manipulate) or convert resources/cards into test help, giving you easy ways to tick Agatha’s condition every round.
• Spectral Shield — The Drowned City safety valve to blank a hit when Flood or map pressure would punish you.
• Preposterous Sketches — Cheap draw 3 at revealed locations; recur to keep your hand full.
• Emergency Cache — Simple but necessary resource bump for the asset curve.

Piloting by Phase

Opening (Mulligan): Eyepiece (or any token-interaction), economy (Milan / Sketches / Cache), and one clue tool (Fingerprint Kit or Magnifying Glass). Keep one safety (Ethereal Form or Mind over Matter) if enemies are expected early.

Mid-game rhythm: Aim for one recur per round. Clear a location, bank a testless event in discard, tick the condition (seal/ignore/cancel), then replay the event at end of turn.

Closing: Lean on testless and high-stat lines; recur Hunch to clean up or Ethereal Form to shrug off Hunters while you cross the map.

The Drowned City — Campaign Notes

• Flood and movement: You don’t spam movement; avoid ending turns in dangerous locations. Use Ethereal Form to disengage and step away, or recur Mind over Matter for INT-based evade-then-move lines.
• Bag pressure: Don’t hoard seals. Cycle them to flatten odds and keep feeding Agatha’s trigger.
• Encounter spikes: High WILL lines, Guts, Spectral Shield, and selective evasion carry you through rough rounds; the end-of-turn recur restores tempo.

Slot Management (Important)

• Accessory: Default Ocula Obscura. Hawk-Eye and Rosary/Talisman are situational—plan per scenario and avoid accessory clashes.
• Arcane: Shrivelling plus Breath of the Sleeper is a solid pair; your recur-events don’t occupy Arcane, which is a big part of their value.
• Hands: Prioritize Fingerprint Kit. Magnifying Glass fills in when Kit isn’t down; fit Mortar and Pestle or Dial of Ancients only if they won’t choke your clue rate.

Weakness and Risk

• Glimpse the Void (signature): Punishes greed. Don’t sit on unneeded seals; keep a recur-eligible escape (Ethereal Form, Blinding Light, or Mind over Matter) ready the turn it might flip.
• Random basic weakness: Hand size plus recursion give resilience; schedule your end-of-turn play before any likely tempo hit.

Mulligan Checklist (Quick)

• Keep: Eyepiece or token-tech; Fingerprint Kit or Magnifying Glass; Dr. Milan or Sketches/Cache; one safety (Ethereal Form or Mind over Matter).
• Toss: Competing accessories; narrow tech with no economy; late-game toys without a board.

Optional Trims and Swaps (if you need 35 non-signature)

Your posted list runs 37 non-signature. Clean trims that preserve the plan:

• Cut one accessory that conflicts with Eyepiece (for example, Holy Rosary or one Hawk-Eye), and
• Cut one tech that is meta-dependent (for example, Talisman of Protection or Mortar and Pestle #2).

Pool note: Talisman of Protection is from Edge of the Earth. If you’re sticking to your usual pool, swap it for a safety piece of choice (for example, Cherished Keepsake) or another Guts.

First Upgrades (XP Path)

• Working a Hunch (2) — Testless clue at any revealed location; premium recur target.
• Pathfinder (1) (Dunwich, if not using Taboo) — One free move per round; huge in Flood scenarios.
• Misdirection (2) (The Drowned City) — Cancel an attack and reposition; excellent versus Hunters.

Final Thought

This plays like a tempo Seeker with a spell belt: you’re not here to dominate combat; you’re here to never lose a turn to it. Keep the loop tight — tick the condition, bank the recursion, respect Flood — and the deck’s rhythm will carry scenarios even when the bag gets nasty.